Earlybird leads investment in Clean Mobile AG
To date, small electric vehicles only rely on batteries. They suffer from low power, short reach, long charging times and high maintenance cost due to quickly dying batteries. Clean Mobile has developed a hybrid electric drive system that uses fuel cells to keep the vehicle charged even after running hundreds of kilometres without connection to the electric grid. It claims that its unique combination of outstanding electronics and drive expertise has earned a lot of recognition in the market, and the company’s solution has been selected by several world leading vehicle vendors.
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Earlybird has completed a series A financing round of €3,3 million in Clean Mobile AG, of Unterhaching (Munich) . Clean Mobile AG designs and builds fuel cell powered drives for small vehicles like city scooters, wheel chairs and small delivery vehicles. The round was led by Earlybird and SVTG (Silicon Valley Technology Group). The series A funding will be used to bring the company to commercial proof of concept. Seed investor HTGF (High Tech Gründer Fonds) is also participating in the round.
Clean Mobile AG is run by a team of serial entrepreneurs and industry veterans who have previously designed Formula 1 vehicles, motorbikes, e-bikes and other electric vehicles. Werner Gruber, CEO of Clean Mobile AG said, “We are delighted to have secured backing from top-tier VC investors Earlybird and SVTG. While raising this round we have enjoyed their responsiveness and support. This investment is a huge endorsement for the strength of our technology and our anticipated growth. The funding will enable us to continue our technology development and achieve market entry in our first target markets.”
Commenting on the investment, Earlybird Partner, Wolfgang Seibold said, “We are excited about this investment. Clean Mobile has all the hallmarks of a typical Earlybird investment: an innovative technology with distinct competitive advantage in a range of high-volume markets, coupled with a strong IP portfolio and a very seasoned and complementary team of serial entrepreneurs. The Company is an excellent fit for Earlybird’s latest investment fund and we are pleased to announce our participation in this important financing round. We look forward to working closely with management to turn Clean Mobile into a major player in the electric vehicle arena.” Upon closing of the financing round, Wolfgang Seibold will take a seat on the Clean Mobile AG supervisory board.
With Clean Mobile, the new generation Earlybird 2007 Fund is financing its fifth technology company.
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© Chilli Publishing Ltd 2008 |
13 APR 2008 |
